Project Spotlight: Retail Grocery

After Lee County’s first CIR job was performed in a high profile road, Anderson says his interest was piqued– Anderson wanted to expand into more recycling and reclamation. He began researching and asking for the advice of others. By the time a large road use agreement came across his desk from a new wind farm in the area, Anderson was prepared to try something new. 

The wind farm road use agreement said that the wind farm would fund repairs for nearly 25 miles of Lee County’s surrounding roads, which had begun exhibiting base issues after the heavy truck traffic and crane use due to construction. Anderson said the problem was tricky: “We couldn’t raise the profile of the roads, so HMA was out of the question– and reconstruction would’ve been too invasive and too costly ($700,000/mile).” 

Anderson let a project to bid that consisted primarily of cement stabilized FDR, with sections of emulsified FDR. The project would use 3,163.5 tons of cement, 154,982 gallons of emulsion and would take just 15 days.  Even better, the FDR would only cost $1,230,589. The FDR project would save more than $16,000,000 compared to reconstruction. Anderson hired a consulting engineer for quality assurance and on-site monitoring. He says between his own research, the contractor’s expertise, and the onsite consulting engineer, he was confident through the whole process. 

The end result was nearly 25 miles of strong 8” of reclaimed roadway. Anderson made sure to explain to the commissioner that this base would last for many years if the surface course (1.5” of HMA) is maintained properly. 

During the wind farm project, another highway commissioner approached Anderson with a similar problem: Mt. Union road needed repairs. The commissioner was concerned about stability, and knew that the treatment fix couldn’t increase or raise the profile of the road. Again, budgets were a concern. Per Anderson’s recommendation, Lee County hired Rock Solid to perform 12,233 Sy’s of cement FDR, with 127 total tons of material– The whole project was completed in 1 day, costing the county only $93,063. 

“We’re their go-to for technical advice” Anderson says about the highway commissioners. “It’s our job to make the right recommendations. Recycling and reclamation have been a really solid choice for us.” 

Anderson says the results are undeniable, and he hopes to apply more CIR and FDR in the coming years. “After being on the roads, not that it’s required, but for my own curiosity, I’ll core these roads, get a sample and do some testing. I expect that base is strong beyond belief,” he says. “Stronger than it would have been otherwise. We’re confident it’ll be solid for a while.” 

We are featuring David Anderson, Lee County County Engineer for his quick-action in learning, understanding and implementing new recycling and reclamation disciplines for the county. He’s become the highway commissioners’ resource for spearheading projects and advice on recycling and reclamation, as well as an experienced go-to for many County Engineers in neighboring areas.

It is never too early to show interest in construction. From digging in the sandbox, building with legos, even driving a toy truck around the house, construction can be a big part of a child’s life.

Below you will see several coloring pages (we will be adding new pages daily) to introduce your children to Rock Solid machines!

Click on the pictures, download them, print them, and break out the crayons. Once your child (or even you) are done coloring them, send the finished masterpiece back to us at photos@rocksolidsr.com and we will be sure to post them throughout our various social media sites!

Future is Rock Solid

Rock Solid Logo

BUBBA the BULKER

ROCKY the SPREADER

RALPHIE the RECLAIMER

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Quicklime is formed by burning or heating naturally occurring limestone rock.

Used in the steel industry, it acts as a flux in purifying steel removing all phosphorus, sulfur, and silica, which are all damaging to your health.

Quicklime is also used for water treatment. Since it is an alkaline, it is used to adjust the pH levels of drinking water, lowering the acidity to make water potable.

In the site work industry, quicklime is used for soil modification to dry and strengthen soils with a high plasticity rating such as fatty clay.

Soil Modification @ Subgrade: When the jobsites subgrade is failing a proof roll due to being above optimum moisture, adding quicklime will quickly dry and increase stability. Not to mention the cost to modify can be up to 80% cheaper and 50% faster vs. the cost of undercutting.

“Dry Drown” Your Fills (lifts): Often modification is referred to as “dry down”.  Instead of discing, drying, and hoping for wind and sunshine, blending quicklime will dry wet material in hours rather than days. Quicklime dry down is a great way to keep a project on schedule and protected from future rain events.  Gambling with Mother Nature could cost more than a few days.

Quicklime is cost effective, and available throughout the nation, making quicklime a great solution for drying wet soils.

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Fly ash is a byproduct from burning coal which makes steam to generate electricity.  When burning coal, combustion particles rise out of the combustion chamber with flue gasses. They are captured in filters to prevent them from reaching the atmosphere and collected for disposal or beneficial reuse. These particles are called fly ash.

There are two types of fly ash, Class C and Class F. Class C is self-cementing fly ash and is used in the production of concrete as a substitute for Portland Cement, and as a chemical stabilizing & modifying agent to dry and/or strengthen poor soils. Class F has very little self-cementing properties, but can be combined with additives such as quicklime, hydrated lime, or cement (portland or hydraulic) to create cementitious compounds for the same purposes.

When mixed with soil and other additives, fly ash enhances the ground’s physical properties. For example, it adds shear and compressive strength that helps hold the soil in place even when the roadway on top of it is subjected to extreme forces. This also provides the earth with greater capacity for bearing heavy loads. Fly ash also serves to reduce soil plasticity and shrink-swell potential, which helps prevent sinking or buckling that can lead to damaged pavement. The addition of fly ash to soil also serves to prevent it from absorbing moisture that can lead to instability.

This is why the use of this additive is often recommended for projects in areas with expansive or clay-heavy soils. The process is employed most frequently when building subgrades for roads, parking lots, industrial pads, and embankments where strength and stability are essential.

Rock Solid uses a proven method for fly ash stabilization that provides optimal results. We begin with extensive soil testing to determine its properties, which is used to determine the proportions of fly ash and water needed. This is also when we determine whether any more additives will be required. Then we get to work mixing the additives into the soil and compacting the earth to ensure the best performance from the resulting subgrade. After the curing process is completed, we conduct quality control tests to make sure our work has achieved the desired results and meets regulatory compliance standards.

The properties of fly ash make it a popular choice for use in soil modification and stabilization techniques:

Soil Modification: Given its cementitious properties, fly ash can dry down wet soils and increase the strength of each fill layer. It works best in sandy/silty soils but can be very effective in lean clays as well.

Soil & Base Stabilization: Using fly ash in soil stabilization applications to strengthen the top 8”-14” of subgrade can decrease the thickness of aggregate base and/or pavement (asphalt or concrete) needed to achieve the structural design strength of the overall pavement section. Again, it works best in sandy, silty soils, but is also a great option to stabilize existing aggregate base when performing parking lot repairs or upgrades.

Full Depth Reclamation: Depending on the existing make-up of the current pavement & aggregate base, fly ash can be used by itself, or in combination with other additives, to rehabilitate entire pavement sections in place.

Fly ash yields less strength gain than Portland Cement. Typically, you need to use twice as much product to achieve similar results when compared to cement.  However, if a fly ash source is within proximity of a project, utilizing it could be a better value and is worth comparing.

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Lime Kiln Dust, a.k.a LKD, is a byproduct created when manufacturing Quicklime. When limestone is naturally heated, it produces gas with dust. The dust that is screened out is called Lime Kiln Dust.  LKD, has little beneficial use, and is mostly disposed of into landfills. The site work industry uses LKD as a stabilizing agent to dry poor soils.

Soil Modification: Blending LKD into wet fill, often referred to as “Dry Down” can keep projects on time and on budget.  Dry Down is one of the most common uses for LKD.  It is very good at removing moisture from fill materials, so compaction can be achieved faster allowing for another lift of fill to be placed.

Soil Stabilization: Lime kiln dust for soil stabilization can stabilize building pad or parking lot sub-grades when existing soils are mostly comprised of clay like materials.  The increase in strength can be used to offset the thickness of aggregate base or surface (slab or pavement) needed to meet the engineers structural design.  This offset can provide big value.  See our NIMC case study to learn more. Using quicklime for soil stabilization also can help reduce the plasticity of the soil and make it easier to work.

Full Depth Reclamation: LKD can be used as an additive in combination with bituminous stabilizing agents to increase strength when repairing reclaimed materials with higher clay content.  Click HERE to learn more.

Have Questions?

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Quicklime is formed by burning or heating naturally occurring limestone rock.

Used in the steel industry, it acts as a flux in purifying steel removing all phosphorus, sulfur, and silica, which are all damaging to your health.

Quicklime is also used for water treatment. Since it is an alkaline, it is used to adjust the pH levels of drinking water, lowering the acidity to make water potable.

In the site work industry, quicklime is used for soil modification to dry and strengthen soils with a high plasticity rating such as fatty clay.

Soil Modification @ Subgrade: When the jobsites subgrade is failing a proof roll due to being above optimum moisture, adding quicklime will quickly dry and increase stability. Not to mention the cost to modify can be up to 80% cheaper and 50% faster vs. the cost of undercutting.

“Dry Drown” Your Fills (lifts): Often modification is referred to as “dry down”.  Instead of discing, drying, and hoping for wind and sunshine, blending quicklime will dry wet material in hours rather than days. Quicklime dry down is a great way to keep a project on schedule and protected from future rain events.  Gambling with Mother Nature could cost more than a few days.

Quicklime is cost effective, and available throughout the nation, making quicklime a great solution for drying wet soils.

Have Questions?

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According to cement.org, Cement powder is manufactured through a closely controlled chemical combination of calcium, silicon, aluminum, iron and other ingredients. More commonly, it is one of the basic ingredients of concrete when combined with sand, rock, and water. Cement and water combine to make the paste that binds the sand and rock together to produce concrete.

Full Depth Reclamation. Blending cement into the pre-pulverized homogenous mixture of asphalt, aggregate base and subgrade strengthens the entire treated section without removing your existing road or parking lot assets (aggregate base and asphalt).

Base Stabilization. Similar to FDR (also referred to as Cement Treated Base), cement can be added to existing aggregate base after asphalt is milled and removed to dry and strengthen your aggregate base layer prior to new pavement installation.

Subgrade Stabilization. If your silty and sandy sub-grade is too wet to compact and pass a proof roll, you can blend cement to reduce the moisture, re-compact, and pass your proof roll.

Soil Stabilization. On wind farms, it doesn’t pay to build your traditional 12” aggregate road for temporary construction access to the turbine site. By using cement to strengthen the top 8”-14” of soil you eliminate the need for deeper excavation, geogrids, and reduce the quantity of aggregate needed to build your road.

Portland Cement, Soil Cement, and Cement Slag can be used as chemical stabilizers for Soil Stabilization, Sub-grade Stabilization, Base Stabilization, or Full Depth Reclamation. Cement is one of the most versatile and readily available stabilizing materials in the nation, and plays a vital role in supporting our nations infrastructure responsibly.

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